Buried Pictures
by Lilas
Summary: Ken finds an old picture from his childhood and questions arise... (Ran/Ken)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Buried Pictures  
  
Author: Lilas  
  
Spoilers: NONE!!  
  
Pairings: Ranken? Not really, but it's once sided at least  
  
Summary: Ken finds an old photo album  
  
Author's note: I was pondering on this idea and thought it kinda cute and possible. Anyone wants a sequel, tell me and I'll write it.  
  
***  
  
I found a photo album today while packing. It was buried with the rest of my past. I hate photo albums. They always remind me of what I lost… Of what I had. They're depressing. I thought I'd thrown them all away since I joined Weiβ, but I kept that one… I didn't know why until I looked through it. They were old pictures of my parents and my siblings. Pictures from my childhood.  
  
I couldn't help but start crying. All the memories I had buried flew back at me and I couldn't help but shake at the terrible sadness that began eating me away. I cried at every page until I saw that picture. An innocent picture of two boys; a picture I don't remember ever taking. I must have been three at that time, but the smile on my face was unmistakable… His however, was foreign. I couldn't help but choke on my tears.  
  
There he was on the picture. The man I loved was in a picture with me and smiling. Smiling! And with me! In the same picture! It couldn't be him. I'd have remembered him if we were friends during our early childhood, wouldn't I? Wouldn't I remember if we had known each other?  
  
I threw the album to the floor at that point and hugged myself tightly. It was so confusing. The biggest asshole I'd ever met in my life was standing in a picture next to me, smiling, his orchid eyes smiling with him as our arms circled our shoulders. It was so strange, seeing him next to me with that innocent face… It was so incredible to think that we knew each other as children and had played together. I wish I could call my mom and ask her if we knew each other or not, but it's impossible… After all, I'm supposed to be dead, right?  
  
But if I was friends with him, was I friends with his now comatose sister? And if I was friends with them, what happened? Why don't I remember them? Why can't I remember the events leading up to that old, tattered picture?! Why can't I remember him playing with me? And what did we play? Did we play tag, soccer, hide-and-go-seek? Did we have fun, did we like each other? How long had we known each other?  
  
Fate is a funny thing. Once we were friends, then enemies and now friends once more… But I want to be more than friends. Did I wish that as a child too or had I been content with his friendship? I'm guessing I was too young to wish for more than a friend, but even so… How did we meet? What were our first words?  
  
I'm still shaking, even an hour after having seen the picture. I still can't believe it. We had been friends. We had been childhood friends. But that was in the past and the past was to be buried. We can't remember the past, it's not healthy, right? I slowly get up and close the album and put it in the carton box. I won't tell him. Why bother? We're all going our separate ways now that everything is over. We're going to try and build our lives once more.  
  
If fate wants us to meet once more, then we will. Then maybe I'll show him a bit of our forgotten past together… A past neither of us remembered; a past I never wanted to remember.  
  
Maybe keeping that photo album is a bad idea. Maybe I should throw it away… But I can't. It's the only picture I have of him smiling… and I'm with him. I'm the one making him smile. Even if he hates me now, at least I know we were once friends… At least I know we shared a bit of the painful past we each tried to forget… We each tried to bury.  
  
Maybe I'll get him to smile again. Maybe I'll get him to smile because of me again… It's something to look for… It's something to wish for. And I think that's enough for now. 


	2. Chapter 2 (how original)

Disclaimer: I haven't done one of these in ages! The Weiss Boys belong to Takehito-sama!!! And if anyone has fansubs of Gluhen, email! ~evil laugh!~ And please don't sue me for the last thing I just said.  
  
Author's notes: Well, here it is! Six or five people asked for a sequel and today I decided I was going to give them one! I've also decided there's gonna be more of this, but hopefully the next part will take less time than this one did. Review plz!!! I need the ego boost people…  
  
Ja ne!  
  
Lilas~  
  
******  
  
Buried Picture: Chapter 2  
  
  
  
  
  
Three years, five months and 4 days.  
  
That's how long it's been since I found that damn picture buried in my photo album. That's how long it's been since I last saw him. I miss him so much. It was hard to look him in the face that day without having the urge to ask him if he had any recollections whatsoever of our past together. I departed before everyone else. I just couldn't take the curiosity, and I wasn't about to actually ask him.  
  
I've thought about throwing that picture away, but I've bought a frame for it and it's on my dinner table, next to the pictures of my family. Looking at them puts me to peace. It brings back happy memories, souvenirs untainted by blood and darkness. It's nice to be able to escape my prison once in awhile, even if only in my dreams.  
  
I've been thinking about doing a reunion. I miss the guys. I miss Ran. I really miss Ran. And I've heard from Omi that Aya-chan is fairing well. I want to meet her too. I want to see a bit of Ran's past. A bit of who he used to be; a bit of the person I fell in love with. But maybe it's a bad idea. The urge to know my past has increased with each day and if I do meet him again, and with Aya-chan, my big mouth will probably take over and I'll blurt out a question best left unsaid.  
  
Damn picture. It's staring at me. It's teasing me with impossible images and dreams. It's mocking me with snips of my past that I want to forget but seem unable to let go of.  
  
Why?  
  
I'm snapped out of my reverie at the sound of the door bell and scramble to make my way to the door, avoiding all the crap laying around the apartment. As I open the door, I stop dead in my tracks and forget to breathe. Kami- sama why didn't I clean my damn apartment last night when I thought about doing it?  
  
"Hi Ken." His voice hasn't changed. Still deep and beautiful as it was three years ago.  
  
A figure slides from behind him, two braids tilting with her blue dress- clad body. I stare at her and take in her pale skin, her violet eyes and then move my head back and forth from Ran's amused face to this girl standing behind him with a huge smile plastered on her face.  
  
"A-Aya-chan?" There's no helping the stutter in my voice. They look so much alike!  
  
"Ohayoo Ken-kun! Genki desu ka?" Her voice is soft and melodic, yet it has the quality of a child. No wonder Ran began killing for her.  
  
"H-Hai… Genki desu." I can't do anything but stare at the pair of siblings. Does fate have such a sense of humor as to send these two knocking at my door when I'm just thinking about them?  
  
"Ken… May we come in?"  
  
I snap my head towards Ran and stare for a couple more seconds before realizing I'm being a horrible host. I groan inwardly but show a bright smile to them. Can't let Ran see my apartment. He'll have a fit. He'll go ballistic and start lecturing me on how I'm living in a pig's den and that I'm gonna catch some sort of new disease from all the different bacteria mating in my room.  
  
"It can't be as messy as Aya's room." Did he just say that?  
  
"Well, if you promise not to go bezerk, yeah. Sure. Come on in."  
  
I haven't had one of the guys over in ages. Actually, last time I had one of them over my house was two years ago when Omi came to wish me happy birthday, but the kid's been so busy with college and everything else piled on top of him that he hasn't been over since; but we still call. I run in ahead of both of them, picking up several discarded items along the way. This can't be more embarrassing…  
  
"Ken? Isn't this…"  
  
I look up and blanch at what Ran is holding. Scratch that. This is way more embarrassing. What the hell is a condom doing on my floor? An open condom! A… Is it used?! Can't be! I'd have- K'so! The party last night! One of the guys must have… done… something with it. Oh, the horror! There is a condom on my floor and Ran picked it up. RAN!! The single man I love picked it up and now probably thinks I'm screwing someone!  
  
"Er… It- It must be from one of the guys. There was a party here last night. My- My soccer team won and we decided to celebrate. I haven't had time to clean everything up. Is… Is it used?"  
  
Ran simply discards the item in the garbage can and shrugs, sparing me from further humiliation. Aya just stands next to her brother, a sheepish grin on her lips as her pale features get a reddish tint, hinting at a blush. I grab a couple more articles and fly to my room, face red. What did I do to deserve this? At least I had the common sense to disinfect the couches last night after I threw away all the beer.  
  
I take several deep breaths to calm myself down and once I think I'm ready to face the siblings, I open my room and walked back to the dining area, telling myself everything will go well from there on and that nothing else horrific can possibly… go… wrong… Why is Ran staring at my desk? And why is he reaching towards a frame on…  
  
Oh… Oh! You must be kidding me. No way. No freaking way would he have noticed that damn picture. No…  
  
"What's this?" He has…  
  
I don't answer him. I can't answer him. What do you say to someone who finds an authentic picture of himself and his sister hugging a boy he thought he'd never met prior to nearly six years ago? What do you say to someone who's looking at a forgotten piece of his past? I look at the floor, brown bangs covering my eyes, never looking up as a feel two pairs of violet eyes looking at me questioningly. I'll have to answer them eventually… Might as well do it now.  
  
"I… I found that… In one of my picture albums when I was packing…"  
  
"… Three years ago?"  
  
He sounds… I can't tell. This is so awkward. Why did I have to keep that piece of shit?! Why didn't I just throw it out and-  
  
"So… we knew each other?"  
  
I nod softly. What else is there to say? It isn't like we could ask anyone else for advice, for a reference. His parents are dead, my parents think I'm dead… Three childhood friends finding each other after the rollercoaster of life separated them. This can't be more ironic. Falling in love with my childhood friend… This just can't be funnier… It just…  
  
Goddamn it! Why the hell am I crying then?! Why the hell am I chuckling?! They probably think I'm so weird… So messed up… I guess I am. I was hoping he'd remember. She'd remember. I was hoping… I was hoping for something. For anything…  
  
"Ken?"  
  
"I'm all right. I just… Don't mind me." Liar.  
  
"I could ask your mother."  
  
… What?! Did I hear that right? Aya-chan?  
  
"Well, if we were friends when we were younger, then maybe your mom remembers me. Oniichan's told me about your… predicament Ken-kun."  
  
Thank the gods for girls and their choice of words. Predicament is a nice way of putting my position in life. I can't help but look at her with what must be the most childish look I've ever pulled. Ran smiles while Aya giggles. I smile brightly, the tension evaporating from the room. I run to the kitchen and pull out a pen and a paper, scribbling down my mother's new address.  
  
"Check up on Aijou for me, could you? I want to know how she's doing."  
  
She nods, even though she probably has no idea who I'm referring to, and grabs the paper, waving as she walks out the door. I smile softly, staring at the door with a wistful expression. It didn't go as bad I imagined when Ran found the picture…  
  
"Is this really you?"  
  
"Of course! Who else?" I walk up to him and stand next to him, looking down at the framed picture.  
  
"I don't know. You look so different. So much cuter."  
  
"Well, excuse me for- Cute?"  
  
Did he say I was cute? Did he mean I'm still cute- that he thinks I'm cute?! This is so not happening. And he is not blushing because he accidentally let that slip. And… he is not slowly putting down the picture frame and turning around, pinning me with his inescapable orchid eyes… And he is not leaning down and… and…  
  
He's not kissing me. Not… Not kiss…  
  
Oh my gods he's kissing me!  
  
Me!  
  
But… But how?  
  
*******  
  
End notes: HAHAHAH!!!!! I decided to stop here!  
  
This is dedicated to Yaoke who got me hooked on Hockey today! Damn those N. Carolina! We'll beat them next time Yaoke!!  
  
R&R and I'll write more!  
  
*hugs and kisses*  
  
Lilas~ 


	3. Chapter 3 (I'm getting really good at na...

Author: Lilas  
  
Title: Buried Pictures- Chapter 3  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Period.  
  
Spoilers: None that I can think of.  
  
Author's notes: I know I promised some people that I would put a lemon in this chapter, but someone made me change my mind. So no lemon… Sorry! Will there ever be a lemon in this? I do not know. Will I ever write one? Yes. When? Good question. So if I'm motivated enough, I will. In other words: review ficcie!  
  
So now, go read! Yay!  
  
And excuse the spelling and grammar mistakes I didn't catch while editing this.  
  
***  
  
  
  
I've realized there are a couple of things I don't like in this world. One is the smell of week old socks. Two is the fact food doesn't magically appear in my fridge and that I have to get out of the house and go shopping. Three is that I can't tape all the soccer games passing on TV. Four is being unexpectedly kissed by the man I've had a crush on for over three years.  
  
I think the latter has to do with the fact that I've forgotten how to breathe and am, there for, in the process of suffocating. Don't get me wrong though! I'm loving every minute of my slow and painful death by suffocation… I'll die in Ran's arms. Well, at least I would have if he hadn't stopped kissing me when he did.  
  
I find myself falling to the ground, my legs bent at right angles. I still can't breathe. I slowly bring my hand to my mouth and touch my bruised lips, trying to memorize the feelings he brought clashing upon me. Gods, please let me feel that again. I slowly realize that I've started breathing again and cherish in the knowledge that my brain hasn't fried after all. If I'd known this would have been Ran's reaction upon looking at that god forsaken picture, I would have shown it to him the day I found it!  
  
I look up slowly, expecting the worse, but when I do, I find Ran crouched down in front of me, his hand on my cheek and his eyes unguarded and concerned. I bet I'm as a red as a tomato. I can feel my cheeks burning. I open my mouth to try and say something –anything- but I can't find the right words. What do you say after this kind of kiss? Hump me? Do it again? Don't leave me… Love me… I love you…?  
  
"Sorry." He breaks the silence first and oh my Gods please tell me he did not regret that! He smiles at me and traces my lips with his pale fingers. Oh please, oh please, oh please don't leave. "I guess I should have given you a warning."  
  
I laugh. I can't help it. He may think I'm nuts, but holy crap he scared the shit out of me! Saying 'Sorry' is not the right way to start a conversation after you've just kissed someone senseless! Because that's exactly what he did. He kissed me senseless. I even forgot to breathe for a moment! I continue laughing, tears rolling down my cheeks. I can't help those either. I love him so much, it hurts. I want him to tell me he loves me too. I don't want to be the first one to admit my feelings, to expose myself like that. I hope he understands, I hope he gets the message.  
  
I'm sobbing into his shirt now. What a strange transition. I went from laughing hysterically, to giggling, to crying and giggling, to crying and then to sobbing. I'm getting his sweatshirt wet. I hope he doesn't get mad, but I can't stop. I think they're happy tears; but then again, they might be sad tears. I've just been so frustrated lately. He's stroking my hair, whispering things in my ear and somehow, that makes me feel better. I hope he hasn't been saying anything important, because I wasn't paying attention to his words… Only to his voice.  
  
Always to his voice.  
  
"Sorry." My turn to say it; but it's more appropriate. I drenched his sweatshirt, after all.  
  
"I love you, Ken."  
  
There it is. He said it… He understood. I'm such a wuss. I'm crying again. I'm telling him something but I can't understand myself, so I seriously doubt he understand me… Deep breaths Ken, take deep breaths. I have to calm down. I have to tell him I love him too. I have to- Why is he getting up?  
  
"R-Ran?"  
  
"I'll be right back, Ken."  
  
He's leaving me… Why is he-? Shit! He's walking out the door and- He's gone. He's fucking gone! He left me… How can you leave someone after kissing them like that and telling them you love them?! That is not the way the movies go! He's supposed to kiss me, say he loves me, and then I'm supposed to tell him I love him too and we're supposed to make hot and wild sex on my apartment floor… Scratch that. I haven't cleaned it yet and heaven help me if there's dry cum on my floor.  
  
Angrily, I get up and storm to the door, already preparing what I'm gonna shout to him from the railing of my apartment. I'm not going to let him play with me like this and just walk all over me while I believe all he says! I will not let him make a fool out of me. I'm going to show him how exactly in control I am and just how much he's going to regret ever kissing me and then walking away! I'm going-  
  
-to bump into him. I groan inwardly at my rotten luck. Somebody up there really, badly hates me. Or has a huge grudge against me. Either way, it doesn't matter! I'm still going to give him a piece of my mind on his manners and lecture him on the dos and do nots after you kiss someone and reveal their love to them… Especially when that someone is me!  
  
"Ran I can't believe you-"  
  
"This is for you."  
  
I stop dead in my tracks and stare at him, mouth open and eyes wide. He's got a beautifully wrapped gift extended to me. A gift. Ran has a gift for me? But… Is that why he ran off so suddenly? Well, he had said he'd be right back… Then I got worked up for nothing?! I groan inwardly again, cursing me and my hot-temper, as well as my impatience and lack of trust. I can thank Kase for that one. Little bastard.  
  
I reach out and slowly take the gift from him, unsure how to react. "Why?"  
  
"I've missed your birthday three years in a row. I figured I should buy you something."  
  
A delayed birthday gift? And from Ran? Maybe I'm loved up there after all. I wonder what it could be. Let's see. If I were Ran and I just declared my love to myself and missed three of my birthdays, what would I give myself? A soccer ball? No. Ran isn't so shallow. It'll be something with meaning and that expresses deep commitment or something… Argh! I don't know! What could it-  
  
"Why don't you just open it and see what it is instead of trying to figure it out for yourself?"  
  
I blush brightly at that and peer at him from under my bangs, slightly glaring at him. He doesn't have to say it so bluntly! With a small huff I delicately open the gift, intent on keeping the wrapper for the rest of my life as a reminder of this day. I forget to breathe for the second time in the day as I stare at the velvet red laces in the box.  
  
"You know how mythology says you're bound to your true love with red threats… I just thought-"  
  
"It's perfect." I have no idea what he was saying before I interrupted him, but by his face, I can tell I managed to say the right thing.  
  
I look up, tears gathering in my eyes as I clutch the box in my hands. I want to tell him how much I love him, show him I feel the same way as he does towards me, but I just stand there like a dunce, staring at him, a wide smile on my face as tears run down my cheeks. I'm happy… I've never been happier… But I'm crying. I don't understand any of this.  
  
I wonder if, as children, we were this close. So close that no words were needed for understanding to pass between us. I doubt it, considering that I remember myself as a loud obnoxious brat who needed to be explained everything and craved words more than contact. I just wish I could remember… I wish I could know.  
  
"Ken?" His voice interrupts my thoughts, but I don't look up to meet his eyes as I continue staring at the box in my hands and the red threats intertwining with themselves. They're the same color as Ran's hair.  
  
"I love you." I've said it, and it wasn't all that hard either. I look up, grinning from ear to ear as I catch a glimpse of his widen orchid eyes. "I've loved you for so long that I can't remember never loving you. It's sappy, I know, but it's just the way I feel."  
  
He opens his mouth but shuts it right afterwards, as if he can't find the right words. He never was good with words… Were you Ran? He's always been so much better with actions that it's a wonder he managed to say those three words without losing himself in them… And yet, it took me longer than him to reciprocate them.  
  
Why?  
  
I don't know if fear of rejection is really all there is. Maybe there's more… Another fear I can't name. I don't move as I watch him coming closer, intent on showing me how he feels through actions instead of words. I close my eyes softly as I feel his lips on mine, and I answer him back immediately, pressing back with all the strength I manage to find within me. There's never been anything as perfect as this.  
  
He pulls away first, breaking contact and taking in a deep breath, but even then I don't open my eyes. I don't want this to be a dream. I make a mental note to myself to never shout out 'sappy' when people in romance movie say that because now I understand why it's in the script. It's such a powerful wish to want that fright creeps up on you unsuspected and eats at you. Eats at you until you can't take it anymore and you open your eyes to find the truth in front of you.  
  
Fantasy is the best lie to live in. Someone once told me that, and I vehemently disagreed. I still do. As I finally work up the courage to open my eyes, I see Ran in front of me, smiling broadly and violet eyes sparkling with something I've never seen in them before… And I know that there's nothing more fantastic than living in the real world.  
  
"So what do you think Aya-chan's found out about us?" He's whispering so softly, as if he's afraid to break something with his voice.  
  
"I don't know…" I guess whispering is contagious 'cause I'm doing it too. Not that I mind. I can hear his heart beat better if I whisper. "It doesn't really matter to me anymore though. I can make my own past with you now."  
  
My gods am I getting sappy! Whatever happened to that old sarcastic inner voice I used to have? Oh… Here it is. But I think I'll give it a break… After all, why would I need it when I've got him next to me- and close to me- to do that job? You'd never guess by looking at him, but Mr. Red-head is very sarcastic. He was the only one who ever had a come-back to one of Yohji's-  
  
"Should we tell the others?" I don't bother finishing my thought as this new one pops up.  
  
I look up from where my head is leaning against his shoulder, brown bangs covering my vision in a very annoying manner. But I can still see him, and by looking at his eyes I can tell he's heard me and is seriously thinking about my question. I don't know… I think we should. After all, they are our teammates… our friends… But would they be ready?  
  
He opens his mouth, ready to answer my question when a loud, obnoxious knocking at my door startles us both and a genki voice shouts from the other side. A voice I can easily recognize. I look back at Ran and he nods once, in answer to both questions he reads in my eyes.  
  
With a deep breath, I walk to the door and pull it open and smile cheerfully.  
  
"Ohayoo Omi-kun, Yotan! What brings you here?"  
  
***  
  
I thought the ending sucked. I had no idea how to end this chapter, so that's what you get when I can't figure out a good ending.  
  
But even so, review!!  
  
Ja ne!  
  
Lilas~ 


End file.
